A Painful Sort of Love
by Mighty Birdo
Summary: Less than two centuries ago, demons resided in the world as the ruling class. Little more than twenty-five years ago, they were on the verge of extinction, being chased out by inferior creatures they once held dominion over. Present day, there are no demons to be found. At least, that's what Sasuke thought until saving one. [FemaleSasuke] Formerly 'Is This An Addiction'
1. Chapter 1

**A Painful Sort of Love**

 **What You Need to Know:** The story which you have clicked upon, what you shall begin reading shortly, is inspired by the original one-shot chapter of Naruto. You need not have read this 'Chapter 0' to understand and enjoy the story below, but I recommend you do just so you can see how very different Naruto was between then and the official Chapter 1. This story can be considered a huge 'What if?' had Naruto continued as it had been presented in Chapter 0, with many of the same fundamentals and characters of the series at present appearing in different ways, at different times, and - in some cases - not like themselves. So get comfy, grab some popcorn or hot coco and prepare to embark on my vision of how Naruto might have played out had nothing changed between Chapters 0 and 1.

 **Concerning My Other Stories:** For those of you that care, I am writing them. If you don't care and think you may care after reading this, check 'em out!

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke sits beside an open window as her class progresses. She listens to her instructor absentmindedly as she stares outside with her chin resting on the palm of her hand, her eyes half-lidded, fanning herself with the top-most buttons of her shirt unfastened. While she is usually an attentive student, this day in particular is very hot. The heat saps her strength, her attention lapses, and she behaves in a way similar to one narcoleptic classmate of hers. Her eyes gloss over the surrounding area, all bathed in harsh rays of sunlight. The school courtyard is empty, and few cars pass on the road outside the school gates. Across the road sits a winding pathway along a riverbank. It, too, is empty.

 _'No. Someone's there.'_ Just coming into view is a peculiarly dressed person. A small blonde boy dressed in a fur-collared orange jacket and orange pants slowly moves along the riverbank. Sasuke's brow furrows. _'It's damn near 35 degrees outside. What's this idiot doing with something so heavy on?'_ Just looking at the passerby in such a stifling attire alone makes her hotter. She has to look away, but as she turns her head back to the front of the classroom where her instructor stands still droning on, the boy on the riverbank collapses to a knee. Her eyes remain fixed on this stranger. Her fanning stops.

Slowly, the boy on the riverbank extends an arm to the ground and uses it as leverage to pick himself up. His hand has left a splotch of red on the riverbank pathway. As she looks closer, Sasuke can now discern that the entire left sleeve of his jacket has been torn away. His arm has been left bare and mangled. Blood streams down the entirety of his left arm. She looks behind him, following the way he had come. A trail of blood follows him with it now pooling at his feet as he stands still along the riverbank. Slowly, very slowly, he looks over his shoulder. Upward he stares at the one person knowledgeable of his presence on the riverbank.

Sasuke's lips thin. Her teeth clinch tight against each other. Her breath catches in her throat, and she feels a sudden chill. Despite the distance between them, both she and the stranger across the road make perfect eye contact. She finds herself unable to break away from his blue eyes made all the more stunning by the wet blood bordering them.

"Uchiha Sasuke-kun."

Finally, through the assistance of her instructor, Sasuke cancels the staring match with the bloody boy outside her school. In barely a second, she composes herself. "Yes, Umino-sensei?"

"I know it's a terribly hot day, but you need to pay attention, Uchiha-kun." The young teacher chuckles. "How about you help me pick up where I left off?"

"Yes, sir," Sasuke says. Albeit absentmindedly, she did manage to keep track of the lecture. She grabs her textbook and stands. With her head down all the while, she reads, "Twenty-five years ago, the Battle of Mt. Oinari occurred. The Country of Fire's last known ninja village was assaulted by the demon known as the Kyuubi no Yoko - the Nine Tailed Demon Fox. Over the course of three days and four nights, nine veteran ninja alongside the full might of the Country of Fire's military force combated the great demon. As it traversed the country throughout the battle, more than fifteen thousand soldiers and civilians lost their lives, including eight of the nine ninja. In the end, only one ninja stood victorious. Following the battle, this ninja known as Sarutobi Hiruzen proudly declared this: 'This is the age of man.'"

"The Kyuubi no Yoko is the last confirmed sighting of a demon in recent history. No demons big or small have been witnessed inhabiting this or any country part of the Elemental Continent."

At this point, Sasuke stops reading and retakes her seat. Her instructor beams at her, clearly pleased with her performance. "Wonderful!" he exclaims. The other students regard her with mixed reactions. Many of the boys scoff at her, laugh. Just one yawns. The girls fawn over her, complimenting her delivery of the school text. She ignores it all. Her attention is already back on what lies outside of the classroom.

A blood splattered pathway along the riverbank is all she sees. The blonde boy in bloody orange clothes has disappeared. Red footprints continue a short while from the pool of blood the boy had been standing in before abruptly discontinuing. The stranger is gone without a trace.

"But, you know," begins Umino Iruka, homeroom and History teacher of class 2-4 of Hidden Leaf Academy, "even though there aren't any documented sightings of demons since the Battle of Mt. Oinari so many years ago, that doesn't mean they aren't still among us. Demons are very capable of hiding among humans unnoticed if they want." He laughs. "Well, that's what I think anyway."

The class quiets down. They contemplate the words just spoken by their instructor. Demons among them? How frightening! Why in the world would those creatures be lurking around humans? Perhaps to eat them? Or maybe just to live peacefully? These questions pervade the classroom.

 _'Demons?'_ Sasuke ponders the words of her teacher. She begins to fan herself again. She forces herself not to worry about the odd boy who stood along the riverbank. She assures herself that someone will discover him soon enough. Blonde hair, blue eyes, orange clothing... And blood covering a good portion of his body... He stands out in every way possible. She suppresses the chill running up her back. She forces herself to not think of the boy. _'As if. Like it says in the book, "This is the age of man." Demons are history now.'_

* * *

The last bell of the day rings and Sasuke pounces from her seat. Her messenger bag is strapped across her body, and she is already scrolling through her phone with one hand and placing an earbud into her ear with the other as she heads out the classroom. On her way through the second-floor hallway, a couple of girls stop her just before she can start her music. Eagerly, they all ask her to go out with them for karaoke. A quick and easy dismissal along with an insincere smile is all she needs to get by them. Her music begins to play now, and whatever nuisances that would have bothered her as she heads downstairs and toward the way outside have been successfully drowned out. At the exit she nearly collides into her slow moving classmate and student body president, but she manages to plant her feet in time to prevent the collision. He regards her with sleepy eyes and she him with a scowl. He shrugs, apologizes, and lets her pass through the doorway first. Finally, she has left the school building.

The first thing Sasuke pays heed to when she steps foot in the courtyard before her school is the growing number of students standing along the riverbank pathway. Without a doubt, they are examining the traces and pool of blood staining the pavement. As she nears the road between them, she can make out one boy crouching, placing a cloth to the ground and bringing it just shy of his nose and sniffing it. He passes it to the next person beside him. His mouth moves. "It's blood." Although she is unable to hear him, Sasuke can tell these words had just left his mouth.

A shrill scream erupts from within the throng of students closest to the puddle of blood, and quickly more begin to gather around it. Sasuke ignores it all. She weaves through incoming students as she crosses the road. She now walks along the riverbank, toward her home, away from the commotion. _'It's way too damn hot to stand out here just to watch the teachers scratch their heads about some blood on the sidewalk not even on school property.'_ She leaves without even a second look back.

Ten minutes go by and she is already halfway home. The abysmal heat only propels her forward as Sasuke seeks to get indoors and blast her air conditioning on max. To this end, she takes the quickest route home, through a park situated somewhere between her school and home. While she typically travels through the park both on her way to and from school, she typically sticks to the stone pathways leading through the area. Today she deems it acceptable enough to instead walk on the grass.

It is as she passes by a tree that the music on Sasuke's phone begins to slow and lower in volume. It as she passes by a tree that she hears a vigorous rustling of grass and a series of low grunts. It as she passes by a tree that she notices streaks of red running along the tree's bark. Her music continues to play, but Sasuke stops. Back full force in her mind are thoughts of the injured boy she had locked eyes with not much earlier in the day. Back then, she had been far enough away from him for her to convince herself to not help him despite his condition, but now she stood incredibly close to him.

 _'It's too hot for this shit, man.'_

But, still, helping an injured person is to be expected in this kind of situation, right?

Only a few meters away Sasuke sees the shaking of bushes below a particularly large tree. The bushes cease moving. Hesitantly, Sasuke approaches the bushes beneath the large tree. She pulls the earbuds from her ears, music still playing, and wraps them around her neck. "Hey," she calls out loudly. "I saw you not too long ago. Actually, it was a few hours ago. And, actually, I think you saw me too. I was in the school you passed. We looked at each other. I thought you would have found help by now, but I guess you haven't for some reason." She stands just in front of the bushes. "Since you look like you can use the help, I was thinking I could bring you to a hospital to get that arm looked at."

All of a sudden, the bushes begin to rustle again. Sasuke, startled, stumbles backward a few steps. The shaking, however, stops just as suddenly as it began. A loud whine and several grunts emanate from the bushes. Unlike the rustling, they do not stop. Somewhat flustered, Sasuke heads back to and into the bushes, pushing aside foliage now able to discern exactly where the boy sat in the bushes thanks to his loud and very, very odd howls of pain.

"Stop moving already, dumbass! It's obvious you're hurt badly, so making any unnecessary movements is going to cause you tons of pain. Just lay down and let me..." She stops. She is at a complete loss for words. Upon diving into the bushes and pushing aside all of the leaves between them, lying on the ground is not the bloody boy Sasuke had been expecting to find. Lying there in his place is a fox with shockingly bright almost blonde red fur and deep blue eyes staring back at her intensely. Looking closer, she makes out the blood streaming down its left foreleg and splattered against half of its face and a large gash running along the top of the leg.

It is what she does next that will forever change both her own and the life of the fox before her.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Assuming you've gotten this far, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1. I have always really enjoyed stories in which Sasuke is female, and I have always wanted to try my hand at writing one. The thing is, it seems as though nearly every one of them is the same thing just written in another writer's style. That or the character has been changed so drastically without enough  development (this is key) that it may as well be an entirely different character. I didn't want to do that. I wanted to write something that would not only stand out but would also make Sasuke being female not just a gimmick and make sense as a part of the story. Hopefully I'll succeed in doing that.

I'll have more of my thoughts to share in Chapter 2. Until then, feel free to review and comment on this thing I wrote. I need to know what you think, people!


	2. Chapter 2

**A Painful Sort of Love**

* * *

Sasuke winces as more of her sweat enters her eyes. Her sprint slows down to a brisk walk as she wipes her face against the sleeve of her shirt. She cracks open her eyes to survey her surroundings. "Not there yet," she grunts. She quickens her pace and is once again sprinting down the road running along the edge of the park. The bundle of reddening P.E. clothes resting on her chest and shoulder wriggles and whines as it jostles against her. An apology squeaks out from her lips and she adjusts her hold to something less discomforting.

"Just hold on for a bit longer."

In its weakened state, the fox did little more than wail as Sasuke recovered it. Snatched from the brush at the base of a tree and haphazardly wrapped in a middle school girl's clothes in an effort to somehow hold back the outward flow of its lifeblood, the fox is now on its way to receive medical attention. Passersby can barely afford a glimpse their way let alone make out the full appearance of a girl carrying a bleeding animal.

Sasuke continues speaking with the belief that her voice can calm the frightened and fragile creature. "I'm going to get you help. The mother of a classmate of mine runs an animal clinic nearby. When I was still attending the grade school connected to mine, she came by and spoke about her career along with all of the other parents. She said her office is right around the park; I think I've seen it a few times myself before." Peculiarly enough, she finds her words actually seem to placate the fox. She continues to ramble on as she darts down the road.

Sasuke's mouth ceases to move as she finally catches sight of the sign for 'Inuzuka Animal Practice' sitting on the greenery of a quaint and fair sized building. She wastes no time approaching the front entrance. She readjusts the bundle in her arms once more and extends a hand to the doorknob. She freezes then at the sight of red painted on her palm. Quickly, she shakes herself from her stupor and wipes her hand against her skirt before grasping the doorknob and heading into the clinic.

Just beyond the door stands a teenage girl caught halfway in mid-stride with a look of mild surprise slapped on her face. Wearing a similar uniform to her own and a visage resembling that of one of her classmates, Sasuke surmises this girl to be the elder sibling of Inuzuka Kiba and daughter of the doctor whose attention she so desperately needs.

"Um," the brunette starts off, "sorry, but I was just about to lock the door. We're closed for the day. If you need to set an appointment-"

"It's dying!" The first words from Sasuke's mouth shock the older girl into silence. "I just found this fox in the park a few minutes ago. It's bleeding badly. Please help."

The older girl, in her stupor, hesitates in acting. She looks Sasuke up and down is jarred back into her senses by the alarming amount of blood present on her person. "Mama!" she screams, making an about face and rushing through the door leading to the rest of the facility.

From the corner of her eye, Sasuke spots a chair. She collapses against it clearly sapped of her stamina. She had run more than half the circumference of the entire park under the blistering heat of the sun in search of this one building. Sweat pours down her face, but this time she does nothing to stop it. The shuddering frame of the fox matches her shaky breaths. She had put forth her maximum effort in reaching this place. She perks up her ears to the sound of nearing footsteps.

"Shit!" someone exclaims. When she opens her eyes, hovering right above her is the face of yet another person bearing a striking resemblance to her classmate. This is the doctor she had busted her ass to reach. The woman pays little mind to her as she swiftly untangles Sasuke's arms from around the wounded animal and takes it in her own.

"Naruto, what happened to you?" the doctor says.

 _'Naruto? Is that the name of the fox? She knows it?'_ Sasuke wonders, watching as the woman jogs back through the door she came from with the fox cradled in her arms and her daughter in tow. Sasuke is left on her own. As her body cools and her breathing steadies, the hum of music hits her ears. The earbuds she had wrapped about her neck are still there. The music she had turned on while leaving school had never stopped. A smooth and soothing sound swims through the air. It further calms her.

 _'If she does know it, that's even better. She should have no problem keeping it and figuring out what happened to it.'_

Slow breaths. Deep breaths. A few minutes pass and she's mostly recovered. She peers down at her bloody clothes. Her head turns toward the door the doctor and her daughter had disappeared behind. She hears nothing. Whether that be a bad sign or not, Sasuke does not know. She sighs.

Despite quite enjoying the cold air of the hospital waiting room, Sasuke deems it time to leave. She rises from her seat and heads toward the exit. With her hand on the knob, she freezes. She now recalls the blonde boy she had seen earlier in the day. He, like the fox, had also suffered a rather grievous injury, and they both seemed to be wandering through the same area at the time. She had not seen him anywhere while on her way home or while frantically searching for the animal hospital. Could this mean he had been discovered after all?

 _'Probably,'_ Sasuke muses. She twists the doorknob and steps out into the still very warm rays of the sun. She untangles the cord around her neck and returns the buds to her ears. _'But it's not like either of them are my problem to worry about.'_ Sasuke walks away from the animal hospital with not even a second glance. Her part is done. Acting out of the kindness of her heart, Sasuke has delivered a critically wounded animal to who she can only hope is a good enough doctor. Its well-being no longer concerns her. She leaves with no intention of returning.

* * *

The next day Sasuke finds herself outside 'Inuzuka Animal Practice' once again.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I often use music to get me in the mood to write. Depending on what I'm listening to, it'll help me visualize the scenes I want to play out in the story I'm writing; I listen to various love songs and a few of the opening and ending songs from the first part of Naruto while working on this story. I don't think that's unique to me at all. Alongside your review and comments for this chapter and the story thus far, tell me what music best helps you focus on your work whether it be writing or something else entirely.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Painful Sort of Love**

* * *

Once again, Sasuke stands before the entrance of Inuzuka Animal Practice, this time without any additional luggage in her arms and slowly composing herself for entry. As she idles, her hands grip the strap of her messenger bag, fiddling with it with her gaze drifting between the door and the ground at her feet. A scowl creeps across her face as her thoughts begin to seep out into audible words.

"It's just a stupid fox," Sasuke mutters. "What am I even doing here? I just need to leave already..."

The young girl sighs in frustration. Her fingers dig into her short and unkempt ebony hair, pulling it as she stretches backward. Although she expresses a desire to leave the area and be done with the business concerning the wounded fox, her body remains rooted in place true to her real intentions. Sasuke throws her head back and lets her arms dangle at her sides and sighs again. Seemingly giving in to herself, she approaches the door and prepares to turn the handle. However, a sudden relapse in judgement occurs and she snatches her hand away and performs an about face, ambling away from the door. She resumes talking to herself.

"How am I going to explain myself to the doctor? It's not like it's my fox, and she actually seemed familiar with it, so there's seriously no reason for me to be here right now... Then again, what can it hurt?" Sasuke halts her mumbling for but a moment as someone passes her by. "Ugh, this is so fucking stupid."

The jarring sound of a door quickly opening behind her causes Sasuke to jolt and twist around so fast she nearly loses her footing. Standing in the doorway is the doctor from yesterday, the mother Inuzuka. A viscous and strained smile crosses her face and her eyes glare at Sasuke with an obvious annoyance written in them. With one hand on the doorknob, she raises the other and gestures inward with her thumb.

"Girl, if you don't get your scrawny ass in here right now...," she manages to say through grinding teeth. "I've been watching you pace around in front my place for the past twenty minutes!" The doctor whirls around and marches inside with a huff, leaving the door wide open for the student behind her. "Get on in here!"

A few moments pass before Sasuke finds herself capable of moving again. She approaches the doorway and, very tentatively, she steps into the building. Inside, she sees doctor Inuzuka waiting against the front desk with a far less (yet still) intimidating look adorning her tattooed face. Now that is a peculiar sight.

 _'Tattoos on a doctor? On her face no less?'_ Sasuke muses to herself. Twin inverted crimson triangles paint the woman's cheeks, curling inward toward her chin at their points. Despite the outstanding nature of the artwork, Sasuke had not taken notice of it the day before. She closes the door behind herself and settles in the middle of clinic floor, standing with a particularly awkward curl to her lips. As they both stand seemingly mute, the only sound to be heard the quiet flow of an active air conditioning unit, the intense expression on Doctor Inuzuka's face gradually softens to one of mirth.

"I knew you'd be back in here." Doctor Inuzuka chuckles. "Why'd you take so damn long coming inside though?"

Sasuke shrugs. She averts her gaze from the woman down to her feet. "I wasn't sure if I should come in. I don't have anything to do with that fox or what happened to it. From what I can tell, you're familiar with it and should be capable of taking care for it. There's no point in me being here."

"Mm. Well, you're wrong about that." Doctor Inuzuka leaves her position against the front desk. She takes a place right before Sasuke, both her hands on her hips. "There is a good reason for you to be here right now. Naruto - the fox you rescued - although he wasn't in a life threatening condition, he was hurt pretty damn badly. Seeing as you're the one who brought him here, I do have some questions for regarding that."

Sasuke peers up at the woman from the corner of her eyes, her brows knitting together ever so slightly. "I just said I don't know what happened to it. If I had any idea, I wouldn't have wasted so much time staring at your door." She takes a step back. "And if you're thinking I had some hand in doing that to it, you're dead wrong. What sense would it make for the culprit to deliver their victim to the doorstep of a doctor, let alone come back the very next day to check on them?"

"Whoa there, little girl," Doctor Inuzuka says as she approaches Sasuke once again, hands up in a defensive manner. "I never said I figured you for the mastermind behind this attack. I just want to know if you saw or heard anything suspicious in the area you discovered him. Any people around? Strange sounds? Maybe an article of clothing left around there?"

Sasuke backs up no further. She keeps her eyes level with those of the doctor. However, her body weight shifts from one foot to the next. An uneasiness is apparent in her posture, but she does her best to reign it in. Despite her reservations in returning to the animal clinic, she had. "I don't know how relevant it is, but earlier in the day yesterday, I did see a bloody boy walking in the direction of the park I found him. And, actually, there was a bloody hand print on a tree nearest to where I found him. Perhaps they were assaulted by the same person or people? I can't say how likely you are to find him. I didn't see anything about him or a body being found on the news last night or this morning."

Doctor Inuzuka grimaces and crosses her arms but says nothing in return. After a moment she nods, her facial features overall soft and unreadable. She turns away from Sasuke and takes a few steps in the direction of the door leading to the rest of her clinic. She stops.

"If this is something serious, don't you think you should report this to the police? Er, animal...police?"

The doctor hums. "I haven't heard anything about a bloody little boy turning up around here. If you haven't heard anything about him on the news, it means he probably made it to a hospital on his own and received treatment." She shrugs. "If that's all, it's best not to worry the police about something as trivial as an injured fox. Who knows what happened? Could have been another animal that did it for all we know."

Sasuke now sports a quizzical expression on her face. "But your line of questioning... It seemed like you really thought someone went out of their way to hurt it."

"I was just trying to make sure that wasn't the case, kiddo," the doctor laughs. "All that really matters is that Naruto is safe and taken care of."

All Sasuke can do is nod, say, "Yes."

Doctor Inuzuka's laughter carries on. She returns to Sasuke's side, clapping a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Where are my manners? Considering you attend the same school as my babies, you probably already know I'm Hana and Kiba's mom. Inuzuka Tsume is my name, but feel free to call me Doc."

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke says in return. "Yes, I know Kiba. We don't talk much, but when we do, we tend to butt heads. I've seen Hana over the years around school and alongside Kiba on occasion, but we had never spoken until yesterday."

"Oh, you're an Uchiha? I take it not of the branch that still practices that ninja stuff, huh?"

Sasuke shakes her head, uncertain of where exactly their talk had strayed to. "No, all of the members of my family who were ninja died in the Battle of Mt. Oinari according to my brother and uncle. I think there's a few of us in the military, but the family business primarily revolves around electronics."

"Oh, yeah! You are a pretty rich bunch. Got your name stamped on TVs, cameras, phones, theaters and all kinds of shit."

"Yeah..."

"Hah! My bad, kiddo." Tsume apologizes with another clap on Sasuke's shoulder. "Didn't mean to start blabbering about your business like that. You can tell Kiba gets his loudmouth from me."

"Well, it's not really my business. My brother and uncle run the company, and yeah..." Sasuke smiles nervously. She clutches the strap of her bag and shifts her body weight onto another leg. "I should probably get back home before it gets too late. My brother gets a bit antsy when he calls home and I'm not there to pick up the phone. Cellular calls and texting him only placates him so much."

"Right, I understand, but," Tsume scratches the back of her neck, "well, you can't leave just yet. The whole reason you came here was just to check on Naruto after all. That much was obvious." She steps toward the door leading to the backrooms once again, waving Sasuke over as she nears the door. "Kiba's got rugby practice, so he won't be back for a while, and Hana's got something else going on right now, so you don't have to worry about awkward interactions with schoolmates or anything."

As much as she wants to deny wanting to see the fox she had scooped up and ran to the nearest veterinary clinic, Sasuke finds herself unable to do so. She simply settles for gnashing her teeth and gripping the strap of her bag ever more tightly.

Sasuke had not been lying when pointing out her brother's over-protectiveness. Yesterday night she received a rare visit from her brother along with a stern talking to for failing to arrive home in time to answer his calls. Despite sending him repeated texts and voice messages alerting him to her tardiness, he still went out of his way to take time from his busy schedule to visit her apartment and reiterate his rules for her. She barely had enough time to slip in before he did to shower and trash her soiled clothing. In all honesty, it was somewhat nice having him around for just a bit given their separate living situations. Even he admitted to the pleasantness of being in his younger sibling's presence at the time. However, he remained a busy man and would not tolerate Sasuke repeatedly breaking his rules, taking too much of his time.

She had already wasted a good twenty or so minutes of the time allotted for her to return home standing in front of a door. That along with her previously concluded talk with 'Doc' Inuzuka would already see her jogging back home. She had no time to check on the fox, and she knew this.

"Okay," Sasuke says as she follows the doctor back into her work space. She feels she will be able to withstand another sprint back home.

On their way through the building, Sasuke and Tsume pass by a couple of rooms housing fairly large sleeping dogs, a large cage with what Sasuke recognizes as a hawk. The facility is mostly empty save for these few animals presumably being kept for clients. It is all remarkably clean in spite of the doctor's wild exterior. Why, maybe even cute given all of the various pet themed ornaments and knick-knacks spotted throughout the place.

Finally, they reach a room located almost at the very back of the clinic. Before the door is opened, Sasuke can already see the gold-red fox lying atop a bed of blankets on his belly, his head resting on his uninjured and unbandaged foreleg. He then sees her as Tsume opens the door to the room. He picks himself up as much as he can - not much. His blue eyes travel from her face to the older woman's back to Sasuke's.

Tsume stands between the both of them along the wall. Sasuke stands still near the door. Unsure of what to do since entering the room. "Hey," she says through a quivering smile. "You're a lot bigger than I remember. I hadn't really been expecting you to be awake so soon. Kinda imagined I'd just see you while you were medicated or something."

The fox snorts. He eyes Tsume for a moment, but his attention returns to Sasuke just as it had before.

She says some more, but exactly what Sasuke is unsure of due to the exchange of gazes currently being held between herself and the fox.

 _'His eyes remind of that boy's.'_ This thought crosses Sasuke's mind before she even notices it inkling into her head, and she now finds herself unable to not think back to that moment in class yesterday in which she locked eyes with the injured boy passing along the riverbank. Similar to how the blood coating the boy's face at that time contrasted the deep blue of his eyes, so does the gold-red fur of the fox define its own. She finds herself unnerved. She must turn away from it, but she cannot. Luckily for her, the fox does so.

Naruto puts his head down and rests it on his good leg once more.

Sasuke laughs. She covers her eyes and leans back for a good, hearty laugh. What insanity had been going through her head just now? She doesn't even attempt to question it.

"That was pretty damn intense," Tsume remarks.

"Oh yeah. I'm glad I came down here after all."

"Yeah."

Sasuke isn't sure if the fox is looking at her or not, but she does not dare look at it again. It really did have her trapped there for a moment.

"So, I have to ask you something."

"Uh, sure, Doc Tsume."

"I talked with my kids about you yesterday, and well... You seem pretty ideal for this. It's almost strange how perfect you are for this." The doctor laughs. She looks up at Sasuke with that same soft and unreadable expression from before. It melts away, and a big toothy grin takes its place on her face.

"Do me a favor. Take care of this fox for me, will ya?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Yeah. This took me a while to write. For a moment I lost my muse. I had no compulsion to write for months, but last night I took a seat in front of my desktop and began reading aloud the less than two hundred words I had compiled of this chapter. I read and added a little on. I read again and a little more on. I continued reading and gradually got myself to this stopping point. This story shall be finished. This along with my There Once Was A Man. I'll push my way through my sloth and put out there for viewing.

If you don't mind, please leave a review of this chapter and however much you've read up until this point. Alongside your review, tell me what best helps you sit down and write when you just aren't in the mood to do it.

Also, one reviewer recommended me a good few songs and musical artists to listen to while writing. I can't say they're all my cup of tea, but I did enjoy most of them and the fact they were shared with me. The last song I played while writing this chapter was Hard-Headed Woman by Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam. Give it a listen if you're willing and/or share any songs you think deserve a recommendation.


	4. Chapter 4

**A Painful Sort of Love**

* * *

Friday afternoon, just shy of 4:00 pm, a girl stands near the center of Kawarama Park. Her eyes take in the environment, the disturbed branches and bushes, dried blood marring the trunk of a tree and trailing across the ground. She approaches the tree, humming, her nose filling with the extreme scent of blood. She touches the bloody hand print on the face of the tree and trails its shape with the tips of her fingers.

"More blood..." she whispers as she turns toward a spot immediately past the large tree. Here the ground had been soaked in blood. The smell violently assaults her nostrils. The girl inhales deeply. "Hm?" Her dark eyes close and she lifts a hand to her chin. "And it was a girl who saved you? Smells familiar. Now," her eyes reopen and she begins to leave the area, continuing to follow the scent she had picked up, "how much further does this lead?"

The girl's nose leads her to the edge of the park. Immediately across the street nestled between two houses is 'Inuzuka Animal Practice'.

"Well, it figures you would seek out help here. A fairly conspicuous choice however... What to do?" the dark eyed girl mutters to herself. In the midst of her contemplation, she barely registers the opening of the veterinary office's door. Quickly, she slides behind a tree and peeks her head out just enough to see the person exiting.

"Oho?" she says in a sing-song voice. Her hand finds her chin again as a smile creeps across her pale face. "So you're the one."

There was no mistaking the tomboyish beauty that was Uchiha Sasuke hurrying out of the door with what appeared to be a carrier in one hand and a large insulated bag in the other. She is followed closely behind by a woman in scrubs, Inuzuka Tsume. Beaming nervously, she grasps Sasuke by her shoulders and utters her gratitude. The younger girl shies away and bows awkwardly. Hurriedly they say their goodbyes and Sasuke leaves the premises with Tsume observing her retreating form before reentering her place of business.

The dark eyed girl hiding within the foliage smiles to herself cheekily as she processes the event that had just unfolded before her. She bites the tip of her thumb and chuckles to herself. "Alright. This should work in my favor."

* * *

The slowly whirling blades of the ceiling fan seem to have stolen her attention. Sasuke sits at the far end of a dark blue sofa with her legs resting along its length and her head propped against the armrest. A cordless phone is held loosely in her hand as she absentmindedly receives the words of her brother. She shifts lightly as he poses a question to her.

"Yes, brother... I stopped at a bookstore and a convenience store on my way home. No... No where else... I wanted to check out the latest works from new authors and pick up some soba since I haven't had it in a while." She lies naturally without even a hint of falsity in her voice. While not something she does particularly often in regard to her brother, she was confident in her ability to deceive him when need be.

"It was nice seeing you again yesterday. Is there any chance you can... I understand. Yesterday was just a fluke. It won't become a habit so no worries. Yeah... Yeah... Okay. Have a good night. I'll talk with you later." The siblings' conversation comes to a close with Sasuke assured that she won't need to worry about any sudden intrusion from her brother in the near future.

Sasuke sighs and rises from her seat, the phone already back in place on its base. She stalks slowly through an apartment much too large and too luxurious for a single occupant of her age. She peers out of her windows as she draws their curtains closed in preparation for nighttime. Soon enough, she ends up in her own room facing the corner farthest from the entrance. There she has left a makeshift bed of pillows and blankets and a warm bowl of boneless chicken and simmered vegetables generously prepared by the doctor. Right beside it is the carrier used to transport the fox, its door open but its occupant still presumably inside.

She stares at the corner for a few seconds before heading further into the room, to the dresser along the wall to gather some clothing. She takes what she needs and heads back outside and into the bathroom down the hall. Without even closing the door she strips and tosses her uniform and undergarments into their dedicated bin. She runs her bath water and proceeds to scrub and clean herself in preparation for a soak.

After a quick addition of her favorite bath powder, Sasuke now sits in a soothingly hot bath. Her eyes trail over to the bathroom's open doorway. Empty. Obviously.

All clean, refreshed, and dressed in a tee-shirt and shorts, Sasuke walks into her room once more. She blinks. She makes a meek noise. In the corner of her room, the bowl of chicken and vegetables has been more than half eaten, and the fox is curled up on the bed with his tail covering his face. Looking at the scene, Sasuke's lips can't help but turn up a bit.

When Doctor Inuzuka asked her to look after the fox, a moment of silence had passed, but without any further provocation Sasuke had answered plain and simply, "Okay." She now had a roommate.

* * *

"Hey, you're going to be on your own for a bit, eh, Naruto. I have school." The next morning has come and Sasuke finds herself kneeling near the corner of her room. Despite having gone to sleep with the fox sleeping in the bed she had prepared, come morning he had returned to the carrier. She places a new bowl filled with fish, fruits, and vegetables in place of the old one and stands up to leave. "Don't shit all over my room while I'm gone and we won't have any problems."

Not even a whimper is heard as Sasuke gathers her belongings. Had Doctor Inuzuka not already mentioned to her that the fox would mostly keep to himself during his recovery, she might have wondered if it had died due to how silent it was.

 _'Perhaps it'll become more sociable as it recovers?'_

No matter. With everything she needs in her possession, she locks up and leaves her apartment and begins her commute to school.

Sasuke's apartment complex is located on the southern edge of Konoha's fairly large metro area, a largely residential location with a school not her own in close proximity. The school she attends, Hidden Leaf Academy, her brother's Alma Mater, resides in a fairly affluent neighborhood about a thirty minute combined walk and train ride southwest. Naturally, she commutes with many of her schoolmates. Naturally, she chooses to speak with as few as possible.

Her earbuds go in and music cuts her off from the world around her. It seems to expedite her trip and she reaches the train station in no time. She swipes her pass, waits for a few minutes and boards. No seats are left open as the station she boards the train is the last before her school. Sasuke is instead left to grab onto the railing and stand alongside the other riders.

"Hmhmhm. What do we have here?"

Although she could only faintly make out those words, Sasuke did indeed hear them and was made to shudder slightly from the suggestive tone of the speaker.

Yamanaka Ino sits in the seat immediately adjacent to Sasuke's position. A beautiful and buxom bright eyed beauty, this girl was a full year ahead of Sasuke yet one of her more fervent admirers. She whips her platinum blonde hair behind her back and straightens her posture a bit more as she regards the younger female.

"Good morning, my sweet," Ino says in a sultry tone that not at all fails to heat up both the boys and girls within close enough range to notice her. She licks her lips as she sees Sasuke take notice of her, knowing very well she won't be ignored.

"Morning, Yamanaka-san," Sasuke grunts. No, she wouldn't dare ignore Yamanaka Ino. In the past, she proved herself to be very... dangerous when not given the minimum attention she demanded. Namely by stealing her junior's first kiss on one occasion and attempting to leave her with several 'love bites' on another.

"Have you thought about my offer since we last talked? Want to have a sleepover at my place? If it's you, I'll let you stay all weekend, Sasuke-kun."

Ino's confidence and general lack of shame when in the public eye truly served to boggle the minds of many, of which Sasuke was included.

"I'll pass. I'd rather not be sexually assaulted in my sleep."

"Oh, Sasuke-kun," Ino giggles, "you don't need to worry. I won't wait until you're asleep to start with you." The other commuters within earshot all shift uncomfortably in their seats, half of them girls who in some way or form had succumbed to Ino's advances. In spite of her age, she considers herself to be an avid lover of the female form on par with the Sage of Mount Myoboku, one who seems to always get her way except in the case of Uchiha Sasuke. Yet she has no intention of stopping until she does succeed.

 _'God, kill me.'_

Sasuke can only sigh outwardly. She turns up the volume on her music gradually, certain that the older girl has been somewhat satisfied with their conversation. Fortunately, the train reaches its destination shortly after. All the students funnel out through the door and commence on the final stretch to their school. Sasuke walks among throngs of her fellow students, making sure to keep a wide berth between her and Ino.

Halfway through her morning commute, Sasuke is in Kawarama Park on a side not near the veterinary office she had become more and more acquainted with over the past couple of days, so it is to her mild surprise when she sees the very recognizable visage of the Inuzuka though this time a male. Kiba waits along Sasuke's usual path with an insulated cooler strung from his torso. He pushes away from the tree he was previously leaning against and falls in step beside her.

"Yo, Uchiha."

No response. Her last social interaction had left a bad taste in her mouth, and she wasn't quite ready to put up with another nuisance so soon.

Mildly annoyed Kiba waves his hand in front of Sasuke's face. Having caught her eye just a tiny bit, he motions toward his ear. "Take out those fucking things and listen to me."

He removes the strap of the cooler from his body and nudges it toward the girl. "My ma said she saddled you with that fox you brought in the other day, so she wanted to pass on some more shit for you to feed him. Bring the cooler and that other bag back and she'll keep the food coming through me."

"So she has you playing errand boy. Guess that's something even you would struggle to screw up." She casually receives the container from the now slightly more livid teenage boy whispering vulgarities under his breath. "Gotta say though, this is a pretty strange arrangement your mom has going on."

 _'Not that I mind it all that_ _much.'_

Kiba shrugs. Though still a little irked by the girl's remark, he responds. "Yeah, well, apparently she thinks the thing'll be safer that way. Said whatever piece of shit hurt it may check out a vet to get at it again."

One of Sasuke's eyebrows raises. "Sounds like an awful lot to go through just for a fox, but I guess your mom would know its history all things considered."

"What makes you say that?"

Like her peer had done before, Sasuke shrugs. "Well, she did say his name when she first saw him. Seemed pretty familiar to me. I'm guessing she treated him before."

"Huh," is all that the boy says in response. The look on his face turns pensive. He seems lost in thought and searching for more to say as his mouth opens and closes a few times without anymore coming out.

A little perplexed by this behavior, Sasuke comments on it about as tactfully as she can. "I see you're trying to do some thinking right now. Slow those cogs in your head down before you burn yourself out before class even starts." Her jab successfully does the trick in breaking his train of thought

"Oh, fuck off!" It is at this point that Kiba deems his purpose served and storms away with his middle finger raised high in the air.

Sasuke chuckles to herself. With the presence of her classmate now gone, she once more starts up her music. Following the previous conversation, however, she cannot at all focus on it. Her sour disposition altogether dissipated once reminded of the new addition to her home. Her mind is instead centered around her new roommate. How she wished to observe him enjoying his meals, to pet him, to hold him again without the worry of him bleeding out in her arms.

 _'Ahh, I hope he's getting comfortable while I'm gone.'_

* * *

Clambering out of his carrier, the little fox known as Naruto sneezes. His body shudders as his golden-red fur begins to stand on end. A noxious red flame-like substance wafts off of him and starts to envelope his form. Soon enough it recedes back into him. He sneezes again.

Sitting on the floor of Uchiha Sasuke's bedroom in place of the fox is a nude blond boy with a good majority of his left arm dressed in bandages. He reaches for the bowl of food beside him and begins to stuff himself with a slight grimace on his face. His arm still hurts like hell but that's to be expected. He also wasn't too big a fan of fresh produce but could deal. A sneeze escapes him yet again and he raises a finger to wipe at the underside of his nose.

"Someone must really be thinking about me."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** To anyone who has gotten this far, thanks for reading. I greatly appreciate all reviews I may receive. Oh, and if you don't mind me asking, to what kind of music do you think this Sasuke listens? Also, who do you think the unidentified girl in the top of the chapter is?


End file.
